Burden of Proof
Definition Burden of Proof is the the philosophical concept that whoever makes a point has to put forth evidence for that point. This is closely related to Hitchen's Razor, which postulates that the Burden of Proof lies with whoever makes the greater claim. It was originally based on an early 19th century Latin proverb, "Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur," which can be translated as "What is freely asserted is freely deserted." To put it in simpler terms, "Why?" is a question that deserves to be asked before "Why not?". Likewise, it is similar to Russell's teapot, an analogy of somebody claiming that there is a teapot orbiting the sun and asking others to prove them wrong. This has been applied in several Hypixel Mafia games, first starting with Danger100ish using it to dismiss the points of several people who wished to lynch him on Day 1 of Game VII, namely dudebo99. Examples * Example: Player 1 accuses Player 2 of being scum. Player 1 then proceeds to ask Player 2 to prove they aren't scum. '' In this case, Player 1 is demonstrating the logical fallacy. They have made it impossible for Player 2 to defend themself, because they have not actually put forth a true point for Player 2 to counter. Player 1 has made the greater claim. * "Example: Player A claims to be vengeful gunsmith. Player B accuses Player A of lying. In this case, Player A is demonstrating the logical fallacy. While Player B had no proof that Player A was lying, Player A had no evidence they were telling the truth. Player A has made the greater claim. Benefits Town Town can use this to invalidate a claim from an Anti-Town player or a claim from a Town player that is without basis. Scum Scum can use this as a way to get out of having to answer an accusation thrown at them. Flaws Town This can hurt Town if another Town player is lynched due to having a lack of evidence to support their original claim. Albeit, they shouldn't have made that claim in the first place. Scum Likewise, this can hurt Anti-Town players if they use it against someone who does have evidence. The more the Scum player tries to avoid answering or responding to an accusation, the more s/he appears to be scum. Other Information Usage While used almost exclusively by Danger100ish, there is no specific requisite that is needed to use in an argument. It can be used by both Mafia, Neutral, and Town and as such is not alignment-indicative. Trivia "Burden of Proof" is commonly referred to in the phrase "One cannot prove a negative; It is only possible to disprove a positive," with positive meaning a claim of something's existence and negative of something's non-existence. (This is to be used only in cases where the negative in question is not in a currently testable enviornment, e.g. in the past, on another planet, etc.) Category:Mafia Theory and Strategy